Each matchday is a collaboration of efforts from several departments and many people at Sacramento Republic FC. Throughout the season we will be showing fans a behind-the-scenes look at what matchday looks like for various Republic FC front office members.
Out of the entire Sacramento Republic FC Front Office, few departments have more face-to-face interaction with fans than the Merchandise team. The team is headed by Vice President of Merchandise Tim Stallings, but the day-to-day team is made up of two women: Merchandise Manager Wendy Kosterman and Merchandise Assistant Ashley Ferreirae.
Together they coordinate, stock, order and style the over 200 products that Republic FC has available for purchase, with many of those 200 items coming in at least five different sizes. They also design merchandise along with Stallings, talking with different vendors and deciding what new products to bring on board, such as the Republic FC gloves that were introduced in during this past winter’s collection.
“We have the smallest department in the entire Republic FC Front Office but we handle so many items,” said Ferreirae. “It can be a challenge. We also have only so much space at the Team Store and stadium to stock all the merchandise so a lot of our job is also finding creative solutions. Fortunately, we have part-time staff that we can call in for an extra hand when we need it.”
Throughout the week, Ferreirae and Kosterman upkeep the Team Store, refreshing the shelves with new stock, rearranging displays to add new arrivals and decorating for different themes and holidays. Ferreirae herself crafted and assembled many of the shelves found around the Team Store, as well as the cubbies and displays that the team uses in their Papa Murphy’s Park merchandise tents.
Ferreirae started at the club in a part time role as a member of the promo crew. But her talent, hard work and eye for style was recognized early and she was recruited for the full-time position.
Aside from all her merchandising responsibilities, Ferreirae also serves as a sort of utility player in the Republic FC Front Office, most recently fixing the heat press machine’s circuit board with only the assistance of a brief manual.
“I do a little bit of everything. I heat press all the custom jersey orders, including requests from players. I create the Team Store vinyl decorations that go on the windows and I do a little of the IT work as well when someone is having computer issues,” said Ferreirae. “If any department needs an extra hand, I’m there to help.”
On matchday, Ferreirae's first task is to check all online orders that are placed overnight. If all the items in an order are in stock at HQ, she packs it up and ships it. If there are items missing, she makes a list of everything she needs so she can bring it back from Papa Murphy’s Park.
If a new item arrives on matchday, Ferreirae spends all morning bar coding and scanning the items to get them into the system and ready for purchase later that day. Once she’s checked off online orders and any new arrivals, Ferreirae loads up her car with everything that needs to be taken to the field, all of which is packed ahead of matchday after checking the stock at Papa Murphy’s Park.
“On an average basis, we don’t take a lot with us to the stadium, just items that are running low,” said Ferreirae. “My car won’t be super full but I’ll have the seats down and about six or seven boxes that I take out. It’s mostly items that we sell on a regular basis, like the traditional shirts and sweatshirts, and also blankets, depending on the weather."
At Papa Murphy’s Park, the merchandise team works out of two locations: the main merchandise tent in The Market, headed by Kosterman, and another tent on the east side, led by Ferreirae. Because no permanent building or store exists at Papa Murphy's Park, Ferreirae unloads all the boxes and begins to load the items onto the clothing racks in the stadium’s one storage container.
For a regular match, both merchandise tents, one in The Market and one on the east side, must be set up from top to bottom. Ferreirae sets up the technology in the tents, including the Internet and the iPads. The next step then includes setting up all the different displays with the help of all the merchandise matchday staff, a total of eight people in The Market and four people working in east side tent. Once the tents are set up, the staff roll out all of the shelves, assign iPads to and do a test run to make sure everything works before fans enter.
"During the match I have the opportunity to do what I enjoy most – customer service. We learn so much from our fans on what merchandise they like and what they want to see us design. It is how we garner some of our best ideas. It may seem like a simple task to help fans find a size or select which shirt may be best for Cousin Susan, but it is my opportunity to ask questions and engage one-on-one. Many of these fans have become friends if not family; reconnecting with them every match is one of the best aspects to my job."
Once the match ends and fans exit Papa Murphy’s Park, the Merchandise team take everything that is going to stay at Papa Murphy’s Park back into the storage container. Ferreirae checks her list from earlier in the day for any items that need to be taken back to the office. She loads up all the merchandise boxes that are needed at the Team Store and the iPads and takes the item back to the office after the match. After unloading the last item and locking up the store, Ferreirae’s matchday is officially over.
Have a Republic Front Office staff position you would like to see featured? Send us your requests at goal@https://www.sacrepublicfc.com.
Each matchday is a collaboration of efforts from several departments and many people at Sacramento Republic FC. Throughout the season we will be showing fans a behind-the-scenes look at what matchday looks like for various Republic FC front office members.
Out of the entire Sacramento Republic FC Front Office, few departments have more face-to-face interaction with fans than the Merchandise team. The team is headed by Vice President of Merchandise Tim Stallings, but the day-to-day team is made up of two women: Merchandise Manager Wendy Kosterman and Merchandise Assistant Ashley Ferreirae.
Together they coordinate, stock, order and style the over 200 products that Republic FC has available for purchase, with many of those 200 items coming in at least five different sizes. They also design merchandise along with Stallings, talking with different vendors and deciding what new products to bring on board, such as the Republic FC gloves that were introduced in during this past winter’s collection.
“We have the smallest department in the entire Republic FC Front Office but we handle so many items,” said Ferreirae. “It can be a challenge. We also have only so much space at the Team Store and stadium to stock all the merchandise so a lot of our job is also finding creative solutions. Fortunately, we have part-time staff that we can call in for an extra hand when we need it.”
Throughout the week, Ferreirae and Kosterman upkeep the Team Store, refreshing the shelves with new stock, rearranging displays to add new arrivals and decorating for different themes and holidays. Ferreirae herself crafted and assembled many of the shelves found around the Team Store, as well as the cubbies and displays that the team uses in their Papa Murphy’s Park merchandise tents.
Ferreirae started at the club in a part time role as a member of the promo crew. But her talent, hard work and eye for style was recognized early and she was recruited for the full-time position.
Aside from all her merchandising responsibilities, Ferreirae also serves as a sort of utility player in the Republic FC Front Office, most recently fixing the heat press machine’s circuit board with only the assistance of a brief manual.
“I do a little bit of everything. I heat press all the custom jersey orders, including requests from players. I create the Team Store vinyl decorations that go on the windows and I do a little of the IT work as well when someone is having computer issues,” said Ferreirae. “If any department needs an extra hand, I’m there to help.”
On matchday, Ferreirae’s first task is to check all online orders that are placed overnight. If all the items in an order are in stock at HQ, she packs it up and ships it. If there are items missing, she makes a list of everything she needs so she can bring it back from Papa Murphy’s Park.
If a new item arrives on matchday, Ferreirae spends all morning bar coding and scanning the items to get them into the system and ready for purchase later that day. Once she’s checked off online orders and any new arrivals, Ferreirae loads up her car with everything that needs to be taken to the field, all of which is packed ahead of matchday after checking the stock at Papa Murphy’s Park.
“On an average basis, we don’t take a lot with us to the stadium, just items that are running low,” said Ferreirae. “My car won’t be super full but I’ll have the seats down and about six or seven boxes that I take out. It’s mostly items that we sell on a regular basis, like the traditional shirts and sweatshirts, and also blankets, depending on the weather.”
At Papa Murphy’s Park, the merchandise team works out of two locations: the main merchandise tent in The Market, headed by Kosterman, and another tent on the east side, led by Ferreirae. Because no permanent building or store exists at Papa Murphy’s Park, Ferreirae unloads all the boxes and begins to load the items onto the clothing racks in the stadium’s one storage container.
For a regular match, both merchandise tents, one in The Market and one on the east side, must be set up from top to bottom. Ferreirae sets up the technology in the tents, including the Internet and the iPads. The next step then includes setting up all the different displays with the help of all the merchandise matchday staff, a total of eight people in The Market and four people working in east side tent. Once the tents are set up, the staff roll out all of the shelves, assign iPads to and do a test run to make sure everything works before fans enter.
“During the match I have the opportunity to do what I enjoy most – customer service. We learn so much from our fans on what merchandise they like and what they want to see us design. It is how we garner some of our best ideas. It may seem like a simple task to help fans find a size or select which shirt may be best for Cousin Susan, but it is my opportunity to ask questions and engage one-on-one. Many of these fans have become friends if not family; reconnecting with them every match is one of the best aspects to my job.”
Once the match ends and fans exit Papa Murphy’s Park, the Merchandise team take everything that is going to stay at Papa Murphy’s Park back into the storage container. Ferreirae checks her list from earlier in the day for any items that need to be taken back to the office. She loads up all the merchandise boxes that are needed at the Team Store and the iPads and takes the item back to the office after the match. After unloading the last item and locking up the store, Ferreirae’s matchday is officially over.
Have a Republic Front Office staff position you would like to see featured? Send us your requests at goal@https://www.sacrepublicfc.com.
